


Things Best Kept Silent

by MPoutine



Series: Silence [1]
Category: Clarence (Cartoon)
Genre: Cooter X Sea Bass, Homophobia, M/M, Smoking, Sumo X Jeff, Swearing, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 02:43:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4987021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MPoutine/pseuds/MPoutine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While although they weren't together, it did feel good to just let things out on each other like any regular couple. They weren't! But, they certainly acted like it. They were close, but not close enough that they would just jump right into a labelled relationship with each other consequences and isolation from everyone be damned. They did things together that anyone would do with their friends, but they also did things that made things confusing for anyone who didn't understand. So, they just kept it silent, and kept moving.</p><p>Also posted here:</p><p>Tumblr: http://manamihamasaki.tumblr.com/post/129953939790/things-best-kept-silent-cooter-x-sea-bass</p><p>Quotev: http://www.quotev.com/story/6362900/Things-Best-Kept-Silent-Cooter-x-Sea-Bass/</p><p>Deviantart: http://crystalcritic.deviantart.com/art/Thing-Best-Kept-Silent-Cooter-x-Seabass-557949431</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Best Kept Silent

Blue eyes lazily watched as smoke blew away into the sky, fading into nothingness. A burning cigarette sat calmly between the long fingers of a pale country boy with a short orange Mohawk going slightly in front of his face and framing the bridge of his nose, and scar going right across his left eye, but no damage to the orb except for a difference in coloring. A very deep navy blue similar to the middle of the ocean, while the unharmed held a bland light blue of the sky. Balls of smoke would occasionally drift from his mouth, a stream calmly coming out the corner of his mouth from time to time. It was nearly the time of sunset, the only ones walking around at this time of day naive children getting back home from their playtime before their parents could nag on them for being out too late, teenagers looking for a way to get their negligent alcoholic parents to nag on them or say something for once for a tiny bit of reassurance that they existed in their world, and adults fresh out of college, still not knowing what to do with their lives, got lost in the streets. Of course there were those very rare exceptions, but most fitted perfectly into these categories even with alternate traits and placements. Like a sphere with a few spikes on it.

The smell of the burning cigarettes penetrated their clothes, hanging in a large cloud of smoke trapped by filthy red brick walls on every side but their rights. The smells were all combined, and assaulted his nose, invading every nook and cranny it could find, hanging in by its tendrils. It was starting to leave a staple in this alleyway, sometimes the smell found even when they returned days later and no need to feed their itch. Mismatched eyes watched in a trance-like state as the heat slowly ate away the cigarette, scorched parts slowly falling off bit by bit. He moved his thumb to tap it off, watching it fall to its demise, and bounce off the rim of the front of his worn out hand-me-down sneakers, shattering as it hit the ground.

The violent coughing of his friend finally snapped him out of it. Slightly at least.

The country boy laughed, absolutely amused at the boys unrelenting intolerance of the stick of chemicals now bent and burning away on the alley ground.“You still ain’t used to that Sea Bass? What’re you, a lil girl?”

The obsidian haired boy glared up at the other, coughing fit subsiding for the moment, but a deep scratchiness still stuck inside.“I ain’t no girl!” The boy grumbled crossing his arms and leaning back against the brick wall he occupied with a huff. The boy had a long braid that went down to his ass and an undercut, as well as an evil face eternally set in because of those accursed eyebrows.

“Well ya’ sure smoke like one.” He muttered, taking a harsh drag.

“Well then what do you kindly suggest I do fix this little problem?” He replied in full, beautifully oozing sarcasm.

Cooter was tempted to roll his eyes and just see what else the boy had to say.“C'mhere Sea Bass.” Using his finger to get him over to him like a cheap mutt.

Sea Bass complied with barely a pause, walking over arms still crossed. Raising the stick of death to his lips, he inhaled largely, letting the smoke flood his mouth and nicotine invade the edges of his lungs. He grabbed Sea Bass’ hands, ignoring his grunts of protest, and made a tunnel out of their hands. Sea Bass was completely confused, until Cooter pressed his lips to his end. Cooter raised an eyebrow, waiting for Sea Bass to follow.

Sea Bass hesitated for a moment, before doing the same. Cooter slowly blew in, allowing Sea Bass to inhale his secondhand smoke. It seeped out of the escape routes in their hands, imitating a broken steam pipe. Sea Bass inhaled on his end, allowing the clouds of death in with parted lips. Blowing out the last of his drag, Cooter pulled away, letting go of Sea Bass’ hands. He let his back hit the wall, arms rag doll-like at his sides, crunching out the still lit cigarette with the heel of his crappy shoe.

Sea Bass exhaled the smoke, it feeling a bit more comfortable but the scratch in his throat a bit more irritable. Realizing his hands were still in the same place, he placed them quickly back to his sides. Clenching and unclenching his suddenly tingling hands, he felt his cheeks burn up like the cigarettes they had inhaled. He moved his hands to his cheeks, trying to ignore the butterflies that had been resurrected.

Cooter reached into his hoodie pocket, feeling around for another pack of smokes.

“Tch, damnit. Sea Bass, ya’ got a smoke on ya’?” Cooter’s relaxed mood was blown away like a simple gas. Sea Bass reached into his pockets as well, and came out with nothing but a comical ball of lint.“Nnnope.”

Cooter kicked a nearby can.“Shoot. Now whada we do?”

Sea Bass glanced around the alleyway, nothing really catching his eye. Besides maybe the twitching dead cockroach. While breathing in the lingering smell of their smoke, he had a thought.“Wanna go mess with Sumo?” Cooter’s eyes widened a small fraction, almost going unnoticed by Sea Bass. He shifted in his place, shaking his head. “We could steal some chicken eggs from that retarded kid Clareece or whatever’s backyard.”

“Man we did that last time we got bored. And we ended up both getting caught and having our asses beat by our Mas and Pas with our sibs watchin’.”

“Heard there was a kid with two moms.” Cooter’s eye and jaw twitched.

“We got better things to do than care about some kid with unnatural parents. Thinks his names was Jeff anyway, he’ll be a waste o’ our time.”

Raising an eyebrow, Sea Bass wondered out loud,“Isn’t Sumo friends with that fag?”*

Jaw twitch. “Yeah,” rubbing the back of his neck. “Think Sumo is ‘good friends’ with him.” Sea Bass muttered an 'Oh.’

“Well, if ya don’t want to do any of that, we could… .” Sliding closer, Sea Bass shot a look at Cooter in a sideways glance.“Y'know.” Slowly raising his eye brows up, and then down.

Cooter looked at Sea Bass, finding him to be a bit closer than before. Too close. Cooter turned his head, looking out of the alley. No one.

Sighing, Cooter scratched under his chin.“I’m not really feel in’ up to it right about now.” Sea Bass appeared to not care for this answer. Cooter blew a few orange strands out of his face, reminding himself to nag on his mother about scheduling a hair appointment soon. Or at least giving him another shitty haircut.

“…Wasn’t expectin’ ya to anyway.” Sea Bass muttered, grabbing the end of his braid playing with the paintbrush-like end of it.

“We can go steal some chicken eggs from the barn instead.” Sea Bass’ eyes widened. He almost opened his mouth, before something clamped over it.

Sea Bass grabbed at Cooter’s wrist, trying to get the hand off of his mouth and ask 'why the hell did ya do that for?’ Before the sound of people coming into the alley stung Sea Bass in realization. Prying the hand off, he looked over Cooter’s shoulder, trying to see who the people were, already assuming it was just two kids trying to explore past their curfew as if to make a statement about the world. But what he saw instead, both didn’t surprise him at all, and surprised him.

It was, Sumo. And that kid… His name was, Jeff. Cooter was already looking with him, just as confused as he was as to what the two teenagers they gossiped about earlier were doing.

“It’s getting pretty late, shouldn’t we head back?” The alarmingly neat brunette asked the dirty (quite literally) blonde. Sumo gazed up at the the sky, admiring the stars starting to freckle the sky, brushing out the blood-orange still painting the sky.“Nah, the nights still too young to pass up going to look out point or somethin’.” Scratching at the faint stubble he hadn’t shaved yet, the boy grabbed the other by the waist, pulling him in for a peck on the lips.

As soon as Sumo pulled away, Jeff was stuttering so badly Sumo couldn’t help his uniquely insane form of laughter that was always inside of him from bubbling out.“Oh calm down, it’s not like I grabbed your crotch or anything.” Jeff looked at the cracked up sidewalk, kicking a loose stone.“Yet.” Sumo added joyfully, rubbing his arm where Jeff promptly elbowed him.

Sumo used his “wounded” arm to grab Jeff’s hand, lacing their fingers together like any old couple you would see on the street. Neither noticed the two boys watching them as they went on their way without a single trouble in the whole god damn world.

Cooter stood still, akin to a statue. He appeared to be shattered inside… Like a mirror punched in anger, and confusion. Though, Sea Bass had already lost interest in the two lovebirds, focusing on picking the dirt from his nails.“Well wasn’t that somethin’ Cooter? Looks like they are 'good fri-”

“Shut up Conner.”*

With the sound of his barely uttered first name, Sea Bass’s amused shit eating grin fell to an uneasy frown.“Huh?”

“Just, be quiet. For once . . .” Cooter rested his head in the palms of his hands, sinking down the wall to the dirty paved alley floor.

“Cooter.” Sea Bass crouched down to the others level, uneasily reaching a hand out to the suddenly distraught boy.“Not be a girl or anything but, what’s … Wrong?”

“. . . .” Cooter stayed silent. His lips, unmoving. Before he mumbled something into his hands.“I’ve never liked girls.” Sea Bass’ face almost lit up in happiness.

“And I certainly never will.” Sea Bass was ready to hug the boy, before he stood up.“I can’t be friends with you anymore.” He spoke, nearly above a whisper.

“W-what? Why n-not?” Stuttering for one of the first times in his life, the boy looked up at the other, who held a distant look in his mismatched eyes. The orange boy stared burning holes into the wall, before turning on his heels.“Because, my parents and yours will kill us. And don’t say we can keep a secret. Because the facade will drop one day, and we’ll both be booted out of the house before we can try to change their minds.” Cooter gazed out the alleyway, affectionately at the spot where Sumo once stood.“Besides, don’t you want to be with someone who really loves you?” With that final sentence, he left the alleyway, leaving behind a young heart aching with its fresh new wound.

**Author's Note:**

> (tfw it takes really long to edit something over to a website)
> 
> Well that was, enjoyable to write. I think I’m going to like torturing Cooter and Sea Bass in their love life. Don’t ask me why, (ASKME) I’ll only give an ambiguous answer.
> 
> It was pretty fun to describe smoking. Though I’ll never do it myself, the interesting process of it and how it affects the body is an absolute treat to put into words.
> 
> *Don’t cry homophobia on me, I just figured it would be something they would say(cough cough the fuckboys in high-schools cough cough). I’m just going off of their Southern stereotypical characters and dialogue.
> 
> *Headcanon time! I thought originally after watching “Hoofin’ It” that Sea Bass was C. Bass. So instead of abandoning that thought,(like I should’ve done to all of them) I just made sure to use Sea Bass only when in writing it normally, but with the full name it’s Conner Bass.(he could be a dj with that name- oh my god that’s literally the perfect AU) To them it just sounded better to just say Sea Bass as in the fish instead of plain old Conner or C. Childhood nicknames! YEAH!


End file.
